When exactly did Ringo Starr become a plodder on drums ?

I think Ringo was a fantastic drummer in the Beatles. Perfect. He played for the song and could really kick it when needed. When I watch the film of him playing at that Washington Coliseum concert he's a man on fire.
Watch him playing "Act Naturally" and he's got among the best wrists in the business. Try playing this and singing sometime.


Anyway, I listened to "All Those Years Ago" again yesterday so I could refresh my memory of it before I posted in that current thread. As I stated in that thread, Ringo sounds like a bad drum machine on the song.
So, I listened to "No Values" tonight so I could post something about IT in the Pipes of Peace vs. New thread.
I'm not loving Ringo on that song either. Maybe Ringo couldn't do much with "Free As a Bird" or "Real Love" because of the tempo of the songs, but they don't really show much Ringo "magic" either IMO.

I absolutely love Ringo's playing in the Beatles, love his personality and many of his solo songs so this isn't a "let's knock Ringo" thread. It just occurred to me tonight that I can't really think of any drumming of Ringo's that rises above average or generic to my ears since Plastic Ono Band.

What performances have I forgotten or missed that you think show Ringo shining on drums post Plastic Ono Band ? Can you lead me to a song or songs where Ringo is really the Ringo of old on drums ?

 

He's still pretty good by '72..

 

Back Off Boogaloo had some great drumming in it, but that was back in '72. Song was inspired by Marc Bolan oops beat me to it

 

Did George have any involvement in the writing of this song? I can't imagine Ringo writing a song attacking Paul.

 

No George didn't, though he produced and played lead guitar on the song. Ringo himself has kindly explained ( there's been many rumours about the song) that it was inspired by his friend at the time, Marc Bolan, after having him over for dinner at his house. It's on YouTube somewhere....

 

Good call. He sounds awake on this. That's the hardest he's worked on drums since 1972.

 

Ringo kind of slams Paul in "Early 1970," too, hinting he's the one former bandmate who can't make time for him. He did get the back of Paul's hand when he asked Paul to lay off on releasing McCartney at the same time as Let It Be.

As far as Ringo's drumming, he's not the drummer he used to be, but he really hasn't been a drummer since he went solo. At least he hasn't been dependent on his skills the way he was when he was Fab. He's now a lead singer who drums, but even on Ringo, often not alone.

 

Well, of course! The woman standing next to him is a great drummer, daughter of one of the greatest percussionists alive. You think he's going to bring less than his "A" game in that circumstance?

 

Glenn, you seem to have forgotten almost the whole Ringo Rama album...

 

And my favorite:

 

I think Ringo's drumming on some of his recent albums is terrific. Ringo Rama in particular.

 

Great minds think alike!

 

You gotta be quick on this forum

 

Maybe his drumming is only as good as the material he's drumming on. No more great Beatles songs to drum on, no more great drumming.

 

QUESTION? would Ringo have become the drummer of the Beatles if he was as good looking as Pete Best?...I've read Paulie did not like the girls digging Pete so much.

 

Remember, in the Beatles, Macca would often write the drum parts.
Anyway, Ringo sounds fine on the last two solo albums I have heard all the way through, Vertical Man and Ringo Rama.
At the 1997 All Starr band show I saw in the St. Louis area Ringo played well. Sure, Simon Kirke did most of the heavy lifting (as expected) but Ringo was certainly into it.

 

Drumming is physical and Ringo is OLD.

 

Plodder...

 

"Now That She's Gone Away" from Liverpool 8:

 

Thanks. That's very heavy for Ringo.

That's why I specifically mentioned performances I've forgotten or missed in my opening post. I don't have every Ringo solo album and have stepped off of the Ringo bus because I find that I enjoy Ringo's solo albums on first listen but I never find myself reaching for the ones I have, so I stopped buying new ones.... that's why I'm asking for you folks to post what you think is some cool Ringo drumming.
Just for grins, here's what Ringo solo things I Do own so if there's a good performance on these refresh my memory of it, and also keep posting perfomances you like from the ones I don't have.
I'm not saying there aren't any great drum tracks, I'm saying from all the tracks I''ve heard and can remember, nothing has jumped out at me as special. This one and Ringo's drumming with Sheila E are fun to hear.


Beaucoups Of Blues
Ringo
Goodnight Vienna
Ringo's Rotogravure
Stop and Smell the Roses
Time Takes Time
Vertical Man
I Wanna Be Santa Claus
and all his singles through "Wrack My Brain" and all his appearances on the other Fabs records.

 

Nah, a lot of older drummers still play or played great. A zillion jazz drummers , Dino Danelli, Charlie Watts, Ginger Baker, etc.

 

"Don't Hang Up" with Chrissie Hynde on Choose Love:

 

I've mentioned this before, but on the last All-Starr tour, I was pretty disappointed to see Ringo just kinda tapping along while Gregg Bissonette did all the work, especially when Ringo did most of "I Wanna Be Your Man" on his own and showed that he could still play when he felt like it.

I think "Plastic Ono Band" is one of the all-time great drum albums. So creative. I still love his playing but it's seemed that he's on a sort of "Ringo" auto-pilot since at least the '80's.

 

I agree, it is heavy, that's why it stands up among It Don't Come Easy, and Back Off Boogaloo as my favorites of everything he has recorded as a solo act. I wish he would have done more material going in that heavier direction, he certainly seemed to have fun with it.

I have everything Ringo has released, including all of the live albums. Truthfully I don't pull many of them down to play very often either, but I do play Ringo Rama fairly often. There are a lot of great tracks on that album IMO, and his best drumming on record since the early 1970's. The whole album is posted on youtube, go ahead and test it out... you may be adding one more Ringo album to your collection.